ha

i just remembered... i used to have to have valium on me at all times, just in case i ran into ____. not anymore. i of course, would feel sick to my stomach, but i'd stop short of a panic attack. god, i hope i don't test this theory. i hope it's a looooooooooong time before i run into him (even though i miss him like crazy. actually, because i still DO miss him like crazy).
good news. i FINALLY get to get a fucking haircut. i have no idea when my last was. maybe a year ago. almost. it's out of control. just in time to see my family and hit the big city. whoo hoo. thanks to _____ for loaning me the big bucks to make my xmas everything i could hope for. i sooooooooo have to make her a quilt.
speaking of sewing, i've been doing just that. it takes me a few hours after i wake up at about noon to get motivated to think about what i'm going to work on, and then another couple of hours to get to the machine. but these last few days, at least i'm getting to the machine and STAYING there. whoot whoot what. i sooooo have to finish 2 hoodies by saturday, and if i'm lucky, another one before i fly out tuesday. oh boy. leaves me no time to work on anything for me for east coast. oh well. i have a lot of nice things to wear anyway. i have sweet sweaters to bust out and i'll probably wear only boots the whole time i'm out there since i usually ride my bike everyday here. yeah yeah, i'll be drinking yeungling EVERYday and pizzer every other night. what what.
so... things seem to be falling into place. i hope i make the very most of this opportunity. i hope i go back to school and get a double major by 2012. i hope i re-experience the feeling of falling in love again and am able to enjoy it's rewards rather than let it's risks drive me insane. i hope i can paint my entire house and do some fixer upper stuff like replace my faucet, nail up the gutters, rototill the yard, and maybe fix the leak in my bathroom so i don't feel a wet splash when i am sitting on the toilet 30 seconds from regaining conscienceness. i hope i think i'm pretty again one day. i hope i get back into reading. i hope i can lay off living in the past. i hope i can shed unhealthy relationships or preferably get realllllllly good at drawing strict, fair boundaries from day 1. i hope i can have a family one day, or the equivalent thereof. i hope when i get a car, it's kick ass. i want a wagon dammit. volvo, subaru, corrolla... oh yeah. don't care what year, but hopefully old yet reliable. i want to take it up and down the mountain, not just up and down main st. and if it's green... whoa.
anyway, i also realllllllllly want to let go of my hate. not entirely, but enough so it's negligible when it comes to overpowering me. i want it there to challenge me, keep me sharp, but i don't want it clouding all that i do.

things sure are different

wow. won a lawsuit. got laid off and now i'm getting just as much with ui as i was with my checks thanks to no more garnishment. should be able to get out of default and go back to school with the new limit on fed max for fafsa. jeez. peace corps? prolly. new used car. uh huh. fabric, haircut, new pots and pans, coffee maker, trip out east for xmas, nye paid in full, no more cc mins, pay moms lots back, new clothes, decent coat and shoes, fix up my bikes, and so forth. wow. so glad this is happening. so worried about fucking it up. so glad it's happening now and not earlier in my life when i was still in love or on drugs or traveling a lot. wow.

still missing ____. can't wait til something else takes that place in my heart. hope it's not empty for all time. i refuse to refill it with garbage. that is what was there in the first place, and now here i am wishing i had more. jeez. steve perry, you're my hero, but you get me in trouble. no more.

wish i were prettier, or at least had a better rack. oh well. i do have a decent mind and i'm not fat. there's that. i can always improve my mind and body and my looks, mood, and friends will follow. i know that. it's hard tho. i keep remembering all the hurt and all the betrayal i've been on both sides of, and it's debilitating. i wish i weren't so alone. i wish i trusted people more. it's so lonely. i cry all the time. i wonder what it's like not to cry without feeling numb. to just NOT cry. i hope to one day find out.

the other woman

SO, I THOUGHT I POSTED A MISSED CONNECTION ON CRAIGSLIST LAST NIGHT, BUT I MUST HAVE CLACKED WHEN I SHOULD HAVE CLICKED, BECAUSE IT WASN'T THERE WHEN I CHECKED LATER. IT WAS REALLY GOOD TOO, SO THAT IS A DISAPPOINTMENT. IT WAS A 'LETTER' TO MY EX AND IT WAS ABOUT MY CONFUSION AS TO WHY ALL MY FRIENDS SUCK AND WHETHER I'M DOOMED TO WISHING I WAS WORTHY OF MORE INTERESTING PEOPLE IN MY LIFE DUE TO BEING MISLED TO THINK SOMEONE AS GREAT AS HIM (MINUS THE LYING) WAS INTO ME.

NOW I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF TEXTING WITH THE 2 CLOSEST PEOPLE TO ME RIGHT NOW. THE 21 YEAR OLD ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT IS 'BANGING' A CUTE GIRL HIS AGE WHILE CALLING ME TO TALK ALMOST EVERY DAY AND THE NEW FRIEND I MADE THIS PAST MONTH THAT SEEMS REALLY PROMISING, BUT MAY BE TOTALLY FUCKING CRAZY AND ONE MORE PERSON TO PROVE MY THEORY ABOUT WHAT I'M WORTH FRIEND-WISE.

ANYWAY, TODAY IS MY LAST DAY OF WORK, AND I'M FEELING ALL RIGHT, COMPARATIVELY. I STILL OBSESS ABOUT MY EX, BUT AT LEAST IT'S ONLY BEEN 8 MONTHS SINCE THE OFFICIAL BREAK UP AND I STILL HAVE HALF AS LONG AS THAT TO RECOOPERATE ENOUGH TO FEEL LIKE I'VE MOVED ON. I HAVE A LOT OF SEWING TO LOOK FORWARD TO, MONEY-WISE AND JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, FAMILY-HOLIDAY-WISE. I AM SOOOOO GRATEFUL FOR MY FAMILY, AND AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT STRENGTHENING MY TIES WITH EXTENDED FAMILY THANKS TO FACEBOOK AND SO FORTH. OH, AND THE THING WITH ______... I'M REALLY AT THE POINT WHERE I FEEL LIKE I NEED TO CUT HIM LOOSE, OTHERWISE I'M NO BETTER THAN A MISTRESS THAT SAYS, 'OH, BUT HE LOVES ME'... FOR ONE THING, IT'S NOT FAIR TO HIS GF, AND FOR ANOTHER, IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE NEXT AWESOME GUY I MEET THAT I WON'T GIVE ALL MY ATTENTION TO BECAUSE I'M GLUED TO THE PHONE WITH A KID TALKING ABOUT DICK JOKES 90% OF THE TIME. OH, AND IF WE BOTH DO END UP AT NYE TOGETHER, I CAN'T GO DOWN THERE HAVING JUST KEPT IN TOUCH WITH HIM NON-STOP SINCE AUGUST. THE BREAK IS NECESSARY SO I DON'T BECOME PATHETIC AND THROW MYSELF AT HIM.

I GUESS I HAVE TO OUTRIGHT BREAK UP WITH HIM. HE MAY FEEL HURT IN THE MEANTIME, BUT IT WILL BE A GREAT LEARNING LESSON FOR HIM THAT HE NEEDS TO RESPECT THE PERCEPTIONS OF THOSE THAT ARE RELIANT ON HIM THAT HE CONTINUES TO BENEFIT FROM. HE'S A GOOD KID AND HE SHOULD STAY THAT WAY. I DON'T WANT TO ENCOURAGE BULLSHIT.

CRACKING MY HEAD

HOLY SHIT, I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING! THAT GUY I HAD SEX WITH THAT GOT REALLY MAD AT ME BECAUSE I DIDN'T TELL HIM SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE... WHEN I RAN INTO HIM RECENTLY HE MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT 'CRACKING MY HEAD' AS BEING ONE OF THE ISSUES OF THAT NIGHT, OBVIOUSLY GLOSSING OVER AND NOT MENTIONING 'LOSING HIS HARD-ON'.

NOW, I DIDN'T HOLD IT AGAINST HIM, AND FOR SURE BLAMED IT ON THE C-DOM AND GAVE HIM THE ABSOLUTE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT THAT IT WASN'T AN ISSUE WITH HIM (WHEN IN FACT I FIGURED IT WAS PROBABLY NOT THE C-DOM BUT INSTEAD DUE TO THE FACT THAT I JUST WASN'T THAT INTO IT AND HIS DICK COULD PROBABLY PICK UP ON THAT). HOWEVER, IT JUST DAWNED ON ME THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS HE REACTED AS SEVERELY AS HE DID. AND THAT'S GREAT, BECAUSE HERE I'VE BEEN BEATING MYSELF UP PARTLY DUE TO HIS RESPONSE, WHEN ALL THE WHILE HE'S PROBABLY SUPER EMBARRESSED. HE DID TELL ME HE HAS NEVER JUST HOOKED UP LIKE THAT BEFORE, SO OVERALL, IT MUST HAVE BEEN PREETY TRUMATIC, EVEN BEFORE HE REALIZED I DIDN'T TELL HIM WHAT I SHOULD HAVE.

ANYWAY, I FEEL SLIGHTLY BETTER, BECAUSE I KNOW NOW THAT HIS EXTREME REACTION MOST LIKELY WASN'T JUST DUE TO THE MAGNITUDE OF MY MISGIVING. OF COURSE, WHAT I DID WAS REALLY BAD, AND A TOTAL MISTAKE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED... HOWEVER, LIKE I HAVE MENTIONED TO OTHERS I'VE DISCUSSED THIS WITH, HIS REACTION WAS THE MOST UPSETTING EVER. NOW I HAVE ADDITIONAL INSIGHT INTO WHY THAT MAY BE, AND THEREFORE AS A RESULT FEEL LIKE I CAN ACTUALLY MOVE ON FROM BEATING MYSELF UP ABOUT THIS AND JUST NOT MAKE THAT SAME MISTAKE AGAIN, AND FORGIVE MYSELF FOR HAPPENING TO BE PART OF THAT GUY'S INEVITABLE LEARNING LESSON.

math

argh. i wish i had taken math as my major. i wish, i wish, i wish. but then again, when i think back to what was in my head when decisions were made when they were, i can see why i choose engineering, geology, and then in a last ditch attempt to come out ahead: geography. i failed in all three. but math still leaves me feeling excited. so if i had chosen math then, would i have floundered with that too? i mean, was anything i tried doomed to be bullshit, or did i just not make the right choice early on enough?

was it my parents fault for not supporting me in what i liked and loved? was it their fear of my possible failure to get any further than they did that fueled them to take whatever it was that i liked and try to mold that into the idea they had for me from day one, which was based on what they themselves wished they had done? i think so... it's fairly common, so i shouldn't really hold it against them. they wanted me happy. however... when i think about how little either of them paid attention to me overall, it hurts. my sister and brother had one another, but i always was on my own. my mother drank and my father rolled another joint and banged another 18 year old and leased another new car... neither of them were able to make their children the stars of the show. we weren't even an ensamble cast. my dad was gone 95% of the time, and when he did show up, he was a buddy who did fun things... not a dad. at least hardly a dad. hardly.

any my mom... drunk and passed out and crying and screeeeeeeeeaaaaming! jesus fucking christ, she really let it go all the time. the poor fucking woman was a mess and as miserable a person as i had known. but i loved her with all my heart. wait. maybe not... i just loved her as much as i could love anyone. but it probably wasn't with everything i had. i was too neglected and hurt for that. and my dad... that was work! fitting in all the fun that we possibly could, fitting in every little immediate gratification whether it be ice cream, roller skating, r-rated movies with lots of cursing and fascinating nakedness and disconcerting sexual situations... he was eager to be liked and at the time i thought that passed for love. when us kids got to be older and saw how little money our mother raised us on compared to how hard she worked, and how little our father bothered to contribute for the most basic of necessities, opting instead for the wild once in a long-while weekends... we didn't like him so much anymore.

neither of my parents were able to guide me when i entered the world. neither of them could hold me back from throwing myself into adult situations as i attempted to leave behing all the hurt and fear breeding over the years in my dyfunctional family and amongst my abusive peers at school and in my neighborhood. early on i saw that the only girls that paid attention to me either wanted to use me to get even with a friend or pick on me to impress everyone they could. the only boys who liked me did so because i was on my own and separted from the pack, seemingly easy to prey upon and pounce! it was horrible. the only balance i could find was to sink into a world of only men, but men who could at least compensate me for my torture and make it seem bareable.

that went on for a while, but still i wanted love. i was so alone at that point... my family avoided me, i was living alone in a basement apartment at 16, kicked out of the beginning of 11th grade because i wasn't showing up... i worked almost every single night because i had nothing to do otherwise, even with all the money i was making. then i met _____, and things changed. i was shown an alternative. i wasn't very happy at that point, however, good did come from that situation. it forced me to reconcile the double life i was living. i was able to leave work behind, and no longer had to lie, lie, lie. i reconnected with my family, reentered the world of daylight (literally), and eventually took my ged and started college. i was hopeful and eager, so that was nice. i wasn't close to happy though. not close.

i do horrible things

ok. so this is a long story that leads one to the inevitable conclusion that i do horrible things. i need to lay this out beginning to end because without it, i wander into thoughts of justification and rationlization, when in fact, i'm every bit of a cowardly, selfish bastard as any of the assholes i've ever met.

boyfriend broke up with me. devastaed. begging and pleading for him to come back. let him sleep with me hoping he wanted back. he didn't. he wanted more sex, he missed me. we negotiated. we got back together. he freaked out and finally left me for good. still wanted sex though. somewhere along the way he met someone else and didn't tell me. i found them hanging out at his house one day when i stopped by, knowing we were done, hoping we could still work it out. devasted. finally accepted it was really over for good. from the initial break up to finding out he's seeing someone else = 4 months.

hate. anger. all of a sudden, the dam broke and my denial no longer could hold back all the facts. i had to face the ugly truth. i couldn't keep hoping that all the lies, secrets, and gut feelings were going to be smashed away in the long run when ____ professed his undying love and devotion. not only would it never turn out the way i wanted, but it most likely had been a lie and a charade the whole time. i felt used. i felt utterly unloved and unlovable. i had no trust for myself. i questioned whether i could ever make a smart decision in my life to come, since every decision up until that point had lead me to complete misery. i had wrapped my self-worth in him and him alone. i had never felt so low in all of my life.

my anger kept building and building. i hated what he did, i hated putting up with it for so long. i kicked myself from here til next tuesday for staying after he said this, after she did that and so on. interspersed in all the feelings of betrayl, i also had to face all the times i had hurt others in the ways he hurt me. it was horrendeous. i wanted him to apologize to me, but i had no idea how to go about apologizing to those i hurt. i wanted him to admit every little thing. i wanted to know i was absolved of responsibilty. i wanted to hear that i did everything i could to save us and he threw it away. i wanted to be viewed as a martyer. but my guilt about my past was tugging at me.

enter the young boy. i finally have a friend. someone to talk to everyday. someone who understands hurt and being lied to. someone who i trust and who trusts me. he lives too far away and there's too much of an age difference, but still, he's the closest thing i have to a boyfriend, and it helps me enormously to no longer feel so alone. i shed my old friends realizing our relationships are unhealthy, co-dependant, disrespectful, etc. i am excited to let new positive experiences into my life now that i've finally seen the poison i was lugging around. however, this also reminds me that i was probably the same poison to ____ that my old friends were to me. i hated viewing myself in that light. better to harp on how mean and unfair everyone is and how honest and hard-working i am.

i fantisize about the boy and what our relationship could be. i knowingly push it along further and further even though i shouldn't because he is emotional and latching onto me in an unhealthy way. there is a measure of restraint on my end, but i wonder if i shouldn't just somehow nip it all in the bud.

other than this long-distance boy, my dates and hook-ups have been disgusting. nothing redeeming, admirable, exciting, fun. lots of alcohol and some drugs have led to grumsome displays of carnal messes, each one better left without bothering to pick up after, as if i was staying in one hotel after another so why make the bed or hang up the towel? the worst moments in all these months since the break up have been when flashes of ____ with other women pop in my head. it's like firecrackers in the middle of the night, they scare me so bad. i am so depressed at this point that i am the heaviest i've ever been. i hate how i look. all the constant crying and stress and anxiety have aged my face and all my hurt seeps through my eyes for all to see. i cannot hide my misery. i cannot pull myself up out of the pit of despair. it sucks. i fight feeblely so that i may survive another day without considering suicide. it doesn't always work. my thoughts are beginning to scare me. how will i at my age find friends, make money, travel, have a family, fall in love, look decent when i have so few resources and have given away so much. i had a hard time in my 20s feeling worthy and motivated. now in my 30s, i felt the complete opposite.

one day i have an epiphany. during one of my many conversations with the boy, i'm considering the possiblity i may need to change the nature of our contact, otherwise i'm sure to lead him on and on, and hold myself back, which would enivitably lead to nothing but hurt. i push the thought away as usual. it comes up all the time. but then my roommate wants me to smoke a bowl and is very insistant. while still on the phone, i take a bong hit and immediately fall into the heaving, crass coughing that will get me so fucking stoned. too stoned. sure enough, while listening to ______ on the phone, i am overcome with perspective. i can't get away from him soon enough.

anyway, the horrible things i do? i rage with all the wrath i can muster against those that have hurt me, convinced i am innocent and they are evil. liars through and through, and i did no wrong, i deserved nothing but praise, yet received the oppoiste. then, low and behold, i find myself in exactly the same situation on exactly the opposite side. so i berate those that made mistakes in trying to care for me, and i abandon those that wanted me more than i wanted them. i lead on everyone hoping they think i feel the same as they do so they won't leave. i ignore that nothing is forever, and that sooner or later i will be on one end or the other. i stand up on that self-made pedestal instead and preach and cry and yell and shake my fist in the air for all passing by to see. my attempts at self-deception leaves wounded men in my wake, but i'm too busy feeling sorry for myself they are mere annoyances.

i am a fucking bitch-ass-cunt. i hate me.

he doesn't hate me

_______ DOESN'T HATE ME. HE WAS SO SWEET AND KIND. I LOVED LISTENING TO HIS VOICE. I WAS SO TAKEN ABACK AT HOW HUMBLE AND CLEAR HE WAS IN HIS MANNER. HOW UNASSUMING AND STRAIGHT FORWARD. HOW HEALTHY. HERE WAS A MAN I CONSIDERED THE WORST DRUNK I HAVE EVER MET, AND NOW HE IS IN COLLEGE AGAIN, LIVING WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND AFTER BEING TOGETHER FOR OVER 3 YEARS. HE DOESN'T DRINK AT ALL NOW... IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR. HE IS STILL AT THE SAME JOB. HE IS SO CARING. I MUST HAVE KNOWN HE WAS ALL THESE THINGS. I FORGOT. things were so bad for so very long between us.

WHEN I MET HIM, HE WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON I HAD EVER SEEN. I MAY STILL THINK THAT. ____ IS ALMOST AS BEAUTIFUL... or maybe they are even. IT'S HARD TO SAY WHO I LOVE MORE. THEY ARE BOTH RARE, exquisite BEAUTIES. I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE SHARED TIME WITH THEM. they both have the most beautiful eyes i have ever seen in my life.

I SENT ____ AN EMAIL OF APOLOGY 2 DAYS AGO. NO RESPONSE BUT THAT'S OK. JUST LIKE I WAS WILLING TO WAIT AS LONG AS IT TOOK UNTIL _______ FORGAVE ME, THAT'S WHAT I'M WILLING TO DO WITH ____. OMG. I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE I JUST SPOKE WITH _______! OF COURSE IT PAINS ME TO KNOW HE'S HAPPY WITH SOMEONE ELSE AND HE DIDN'T WANT ME. BUT I'VE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT I WOULDN'T BE HAPPY WITH HIM IN THE LONG RUN. I JUST WANTED TO BELIEVE THINGS COULD STAY THE WAY I WANTED THEM TO. BOTH OF THOSE GUYS SAW THAT THINGS WEREN'T GOING TO LAST, AND BOTH OF THEM HAD TO DEAL WITH WANTING ME YET KNOWING OUR RELATIONSHIPS WERE UNHEALTHY.

OF COURSE THIS MEANS I NEED TO ACCEPT THE INEVITABILITY OF ____ FALLING IN LOVE IF HE HASN'T ALREADY. BOTH OF THEM ARE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE CHILDREN. BUT AT LEAST NOW, I KNOW THAT _______ DID LOVE ME, STILL HAS A PIECE OF ME INSIDE OF HIM, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE REST OF HIS LIFE. HE REMEMBERS WHY HE WANTED ME IN THE FIRST PLACE. I HEARD IT IN HIS VOICE. HE TOLD ME HE DIDN'T HATE ME AND THERE WAS PLENTY OF WRONG THINGS THAT HE DID ON HIS END AND THAT I SHOULDN'T FEEL BAD. HE APOLOGIZED THROUGH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. HE ALSO REASSURED ME WITHOUT ME HAVING TO ASK.

HE MENTIONED HE AND HIS GIRLFRIEND SEE A THERAPIST ONCE A MONTH. THAT'S INCREDIBLE. TO SEE THE STRIDES AND SUCESSES THAT HE HAS PERFORMED DURING THESE PAST FEW YEARS. INSPIRING TO SAY THE LEAST. I AM SO GLAD HE'S SOLID, BALANCED, AND HAPPY. HE SOUNDED GREAT, AND HE SOUNDED GLAD TO HEAR FROM ME. SO REASSURING. HE ASKED WHAT I WAS DOING, AND I SUMMED UP MY CURRENT PATHETIC SITUATION, BUT ADDED THAT I REALLY HOPE TO GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY one day... PERHAPS THROUGH TEACHING OVERSEAS OR THROUGH THE PEACE CORPS. AT THE END OF OUR CONVERSATION, I TOLD HIM I WAS PROUD OF HIM AND HAPPY FOR HIM, AND HE TOLD ME NOT TO WORRY, THAT I WOULD GET BACK TO WHERE I NEED TO BE AND I WILL GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY. BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT'S WHAT I WANTed. HE TOLD ME THAT I COULD GET WHAT I WANT... IN THAT MOMENT, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE TO EVER HAD ENTER MY LIFE SHOWED ME HE BELIEVED IN ME. SOMEONE THAT HAD OVERCOME ODDS JUST AS AGAINST HIM AS ANY AGAINST ME. AND HE FORGAVE ME.